The present invention relates to an optical communication network, a data connection switching unit for use in such a communication network, and an optical communication method.
Optical communication networks generally have a first transceiver from which optical signals are transferred to a second transceiver via a data connection with the interposition of a number of interconnected network node devices. Network node devices can be interconnected, for example, in each case via one or more optical conductors.
The data transmission within the communication network can be performed, for example, with the aid of optical WDM (wavelength division multiplex) binary signals. In this case, a number of wavelength-multiplexed, pulsed optical signals are transmitted via a single optical conductor.
In the communication networks currently used, the data connections used within the network are set up not via signaling signals sent via separate signaling channels, but via a central control device or a central network management.
For the purpose of connecting transceivers to such networks, it is possible to provide so-called protection switching units (PSUs) that, upon the occurrence of disturbances on a first data connection, cause the optical signals emitted by the first transceiver to be transmitted henceforth via a second data connection different from the first data connection.
It is an object of the present invention to make available a novel optical communication network, a novel data connection switching unit for use in an optical communication network, and a novel optical communication method.